Humber Et Cetera Vol.63 No.10 / Dec 3, 2021

HUMBER ET CETERA

Humber’s Student Newspaper

December 3, 2021

Vol.63, No.10

WOMEN BUILD A PLACE IN ENGINEERING 32 YEARS AFTER MONTRÉAL

Three unidentified women hug each other after laying flowers in front of the École Polytechnique de Montréal on Dec. 9, 1989, after 14 women were killed by a gunman three days before.

Nathan Abraha News Reporter

Jeanette Southwood graduated from engineering in 1988, a year before Marc Lepine walked into École Polytechnique in Montreal and killed 14 women, 12 of whom were engineering students.

“It was one of the darkest days in the history of Canadian engineering,” Southwood said.

Southwood recalls discussions she had with colleagues as the event caught the nation’s

COYOTES ON THE PROWL in GTA P. 5

attention, confused and worried. All they could wonder was why such a tragedy happened although the tragedy quickly became a bittersweet catalyst for change.

“The massacre galvanized the engineering profession, its partners and the public to push initiatives to encourage women to pursue engineering,” she said.

The Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation was established in 1990 to honor the memory of the victims of the

École Polytechnique massacre.

The foundation encourages diversity in engineering through scholarships.

“Since 2002 over 200 women have been awarded engineering scholarships through the foundation,” Southwood said.

Southwood now serves as vice president of corporate affairs and strategic partnerships at Engineers Canada, an the national organization that represents the 12 provincial and territorial engineering regula-

tors that license the more than 300,000 members of the engineering profession in Canada.

One of their goals is “30 by 30”, an initiative to raise the percentage of newly licensed female-identifying engineers to 30 per cent by 2030.

“At the end of 2020, we celebrated a milestone where we have just over 20 per cent of newly licensed engineers being women,” said Southwood, who was inducted into the University of Toronto’s Engineering Hall

Humber wins 101-78 Against Sheridan P. 12

of Distinction and received the Governor General’s Sovereign’s Medal in 2019.

“We’re aiming for 30 per cent by 2030,” she said.

Angela Wojtyla first heard about the Montreal massacre in her first year of university while she studied engineering.

“It made me think could someone in my school have that kind of mindset towards me,” Wojtyla said.

CONT’D ON PG. 2

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2 - NEWS

École Polytechnique and the women engineers of today “Just hearing about events like this, it makes you aware.”

CONT’D FROM PG. 1

Wojtyla’s journey with engineering began while she attended vocational high school, in Grade 10 while looking to fill a spare in her schedule, she took an electronics class, and the rest was history.

“I took the course, finished the class with a 100 per cent, my teacher was, like, ‘you’re a natural at this, you should go into electrical engineering,’” Wojtyla said.

She didn’t warm up to it right away until Grade 12.

“When I started to look into engineering, I found it had stability and demand, so I decided on electrical engineering and JOHN HADJIGEORGIOU pursued a degree.”

Marie-Helene Fillion, assistant professor in mining engineering, at a mine site. She says that as a woman in Wojtyla was one of three her field, she often feels that people don’t take her seriously, and she has to push to have her ideas be heard. female graduates out of a class of 40, a fact she never really felt until one conversation. ural phenomena, specifically volca- wasn’t taken seriously by the “I never thought about it until noes, a passion she evolved into a contractor or the engineer a male classmate in my final year pursuit of geological engineering. in charge of the construction told me what he thought about “I chose geological engi- project,” Fillion said. women in engineering, and it was neering for the wider range of But she stressed the need to that women should not be engi- work possibilities,” she said. never be afraid to speak up. neers,” said Wojtyla, who holds a “I’ve always been thinking in “Sometimes I don’t feel that Bachelor of Science in Electrical my life, I need to open as many people take me seriously at the Engineering from the University doors as possible.” first time, so I need to push more of Manitoba and of my ideas to be an MBA Essentials heard, which isn’t Certificate from U of the case for most T’s Rotman School men from what I’ve of Management. seen,” Fillion said.

She now works Now she sees as enterprise a big difference channel manager working as an at Microsoft and assistant prosits as the chair fessor in mining COURTESY of the Diversity engineering at Jeanette Southwood.

Angela Wojtyla Laurentian Uniand Inclusion Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee with the versity.

Committee with Ontario Society of Professional Engineers the Ontario Society “I’m very lucky of Professional because I have Engineers.

Fillion didn’t stop at geological wonderful colleagues,” Fillion “I think I’ve grown a thick engineering. She pursued a Mas- said. “They do not hesitate to skin over the years and decided ters in Civil Engineering and a collaborate with me on research to pursue this no matter what PhD in Mining Engineering. projects. So I think it’s very difothers thought about what Never feeling like an outsider, ferent today than it was when women should do,” she said.

Fillion’s time studying geological we started 20 years ago.”

Wojtyla wanted to join the engineering was spent among Fillion is now able to develop Ontario Society of Professional the company of a classroom of research projects based on her Engineers as a way to give back 50-per-cent female students. interests while training the stuto — and help pave the way for “I had a lot of female friends dents to lead the future of the — future generations. and I think this helped me to fit profession.

“I’ve always been really in,” Fillion said.

“Perception of women in engifocused on empowering people Trouble only started showing neering is changing over time. through education and I felt this once she began work as an engi- It’s not changing as fast as I perwas a great opportunity to give neer for a consulting firm in sonally would hope,” she said. back,” Wojtyla said.

Quebec.

“But having a career in engiCOURTESY Since childhood, Marie-Helene “My job was to verify exca- neering has been easier for me Angela Wojtyla.

Fillion has been fascinated by nat- vation for construction, I felt I than for women in the past.”

“I’VE GROWN A THICK SKIN OVER THE YEARS AND DECIDED TO PURSUE THIS NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WOMEN SHOULD DO”

DEC 3, 2021

ETC Humber Et Cetera is the Humber College journalism program laboratory newspaper. It is created by second and third year journalism students. Et Cetera serves to inform the Humber community and give its readers well rounded coverage on the things that matter to them.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Christian Collington Erin LeBlanc NEWS Sofiia Rusyn Eli Ridder ARTS Nicholas Seles BIZ/TECH Cassandra Spurrell SPORTS Garrett Thomson INTERNATIONAL Nur Dogan LIFE Ayesha Raizada OP-ED Hannah Clarke ART DIRECTOR Sierra MacPherson ONLINE EDITOR Cassandra McCalla FACULTY ADVISER Rob Lamberti TECHNICAL ADVISER Marlee Greig FRONT PAGE PHOTO Shaney Komulainen/CP

@humberetc etc.humber@gmail.com humbernews.ca ©2021 All rights reserved Humber Et Cetera is a publication of the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning 205 Humber College Blvd., Etobicoke, ON, M9W 5L7

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DEC 3, 2021

NEWS - 3

Omicron cases grow in Canada, travel bans placed to ‘buy time’ Andrew Raghunandan News Reporter

The omicron COVID-19 variant is making its presence known across Canada, with travel bans to southern African countries in place since last Friday.

Variant B.1.1.529 was first identified on Nov. 24., in South Africa with the first confirmed case coming from a specimen collected on Nov. 9.

It was first known to arrive in Canada on Nov. 28, when it was reported that two people from Ottawa who had returned from a trip to Nigeria tested positive.

“Ontario is prepared and ready to respond to this new variant,” said Ontario’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore and Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott in a joint statement made on Sunday.

As of Dec 1, a total of 365 cases had been identified in 27 countries, including Canada. British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec have reported cases of the growing variant.

While there is some panic among Canadians due to the rise of this new variant especially in Ontario, health experts and politicians are urging calm.

“I want to reassure Ontarians that we are prepared and ready to respond to this or any other new variant,” Moore said at a press conference on Monday.

“The Ontario COVID-19 genomic network is continuing to actively monitor for all potential variants circulating in the province,” Moore said.

When asked if the province is preparing any new public health restrictions in response to Omicron, Moore said there is no reason to do so at the present.

“If we see the widespread presence of Omicron across Ontario, which is not the case at present, then we could review any measures that we need to take at a provincial level,” Moore said, adding he doesn’t have “a crystal ball” to know what lies ahead.

“If it’s a less lethal virus, less impact on the hospital sector,

and our vaccines can continue to work against it, we will continue our current strategy and not have to have any further public health restrictions,” he said.

Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the World Health Organization director of the Western Pacific, said during a virtual media conference Thursday that the medical response can adapt to the changes in COVID-19 to reduce their “social, economic and health impact.”

He said the vaccine has been a “game changer,” but warned that no vaccine can be 100-per-cent effective.

He said border controls can slow the spread “and buy time” but Kasai said nations and communities should prepare for new surges with vigilance in using masks, keeping distances and other measures along with higher rates of vaccinations.

“The positive news in all of this is that none of the information we have currently about omicron suggests we need to change the directions of our response,”

Kasai said. He said the experience gained in the past two years provides guidance in how to react to surges and new variants.

Premier Doug Ford echoed the same statement at his press conference on Wednesday in Mississauga.

“I don’t foresee us having to take any new steps at present, we will have to understand if it is more virulent or increases the incidence of hospitalization,” he said “We’re still learning more — Dr. Moore was very clear that if there is a big change in circumstance, including a new variant that is problematic, we would have to stay where we are and reassess,” Ford said.

“The discovery of the variant here in Ontario is cause for concern, but it does not cause for panic,” the premier said. “Every day we learn more about Omicron, and every day we hold off more cases from entering our country is more time we have to learn and prepare.

“So the best thing we can do right now is to fortify our borders, our best defence is keeping the variant out of our country,” he said.

Ford thanked Ottawa for its quick move to implement mandatory COVID-19 testing for all passengers arriving at a Canadian airport from a foreign country, with the exemption of the U.S. Ryerson University Psychology Professor James Tiessen said there was no need to think about a potential nationwide lockdown due to the rising variant case counts.

“I don’t think lockdowns are necessary for this variant,” he told Humber Et Cetera. “Although we know it may spread more, we don’t know how deadly it is yet compared to previous ones, so we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

Tiessan argued that most people have already done their part in the fight against COVID-19 by getting fully vaccinated.

AP PHOTO/GBEMIGA OLAMIKAN

A Nigeria civil servant receives an AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, before she is allow access to her office in Abuja, Nigeria , Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. Cases have now been reported across Canada, including Ontario.

Strike vote planned for next week Eli Ridder News Editor

A cooling-off period in the college faculty bargaining process continued this week, with a strike mandate vote planned for next week.

The CAAT-A bargaining team and the College Employer Council (CEC) have been haggling over a new collective agreement since earlier this year, but negotiations broke apart most recently on Nov. 19 when conciliation failed.

Union leaders have previously told Humber Et Cetera a strong strike vote would not necessarily result in a faculty strike that would disrupt college classes.

A vote is required for the college academic wing of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union to take any labour action and avoid a position more vulnerable to action from the employer council.

The online vote from Dec. 9 until Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. was organized by the Ontario Labour Relations Board, as is required.

CAAT-A’s JP Hornick told Humber Et Cetera that the fall semester remains safe from interruption despite the strike vote. However, labour action could still occur in the winter semester.

The employer council, or CEC, has insisted that faculty are unwilling to engage in bargaining while the union maintains the employer council repeatedly leaves the talks.

During the last round of collective bargaining in 2017, the process escalated to a strike that lasted five weeks that ended when the then-Liberal government legislated faculty back to work through binding arbitration.

Though the faculty were forced back to campus, many of the union’s demands were met by the arbitrator and the process was largely regarded as a success by faculty.

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4 - NEWS

DEC 3, 2021

COURTESY YOUTH WITHOUT SHELTER

The Youth Without Shelter organization was formed by teachers and counsellors to help students with a variety of issues with programs such as 20-bed long-term transitional housing.

Homeless youth need community connections, advocates say Blue Door’s Matthew Braithwaite says shelters can evoke a negative reaction but for youth that need them, it can be their only safe space Nathan Abraha News Reporter

There’s something anyone can do to ease the pain and isolation of the homeless, said Mike Burnett, community education specialist at Youth Without Shelter.

And it doesn’t cost a cent.

“People often ask me if they should give money or food to people on the street,” Burnett said. “I tell them neither if not possible. But at least look them in the eyes, make them feel like a human being.”

Youth Without Shelter, in the Albion Road-Kipling Avenue area, opened in 1986, formed by a group of teachers and counsellors to help students struggling with a variety of issues. The spirit is alive today, and so is the need.

“You walk in the doors you see this indie-style cafe that greets you with different programming,” Burnett said. “We’ve shifted from an emergency response place to a full circle of care.”

One of those programs is the stay-in-school residence, a 20-bed long-term transitional housing program for youths who

want to continue their studies in a safe environment.

“I remember a young boy asked me once, If I go to bed will I wake up with my shoes still there,” Burnett said.

“It was his first time at a shelter,” he said.

Youths dealing with homelessness are often hesitant to trust, and it takes patience to develop relationship, Burnett said.

“We watched the Olympics together, the Leafs finally making the playoffs, and getting eliminated by Boston, I’m crying in the corner while everybody celebrates,” Burnett said.

“It’s not a shelter, it’s a home.”

Melody Li, executive director at Homeless Connect Toronto, was working as a teacher in downtown Toronto when it became clear some of her students faced challenges beyond academics.

“It’s not just about going to school, it’s about having breakfast. It’s about having support at home,” she said.

Li started Homeless Connect Toronto in 2013 after a trip to visit friends who were volunteers at the Edmonton branch of the organization. It was founded in San Francisco in 1998 and now has more than 200 locations across North America.

“The model was the first thing

Li has ambitions for a youth-specific version of the organization focused on connecting youth with services.

“Because we’re not a youth-focused organization. It took a long time for us to gain their trust,” Li said.

For many of the youth, it’s not necessarily about the services rather the Mike Burnett relationships Youth Without Shelter they develop with someone working there I noticed,” she said. “I thought it or with a friend who’s using the was really great.” services.

Homeless Connect Toronto is For Matthew Braithwaite, CEO an event-based organization that at Blue Door, formerly known as connects people struggling with Blue Door Shelters, dropping the homelessness and other chal- word Shelters from the name is lenges with the services they need. more than a style change.

“When people come to our “Shelter has a negative connoevents, they’re surprised, tation,” said Braithwaite. “If you because the image that they said, ‘I’m going to put a shelter have of someone homeless, in your neighbourhood’, people doesn’t match who they see in would lose their mind. But if the crowd,” Li said. it’s emergency housing, that Youth homelessness increased changes everything.” by 10 per cent since 2018, Blue Door began in 1982 according to the 2021 Street and is the largest emergency Needs Assessment. housing provider in the York

“IT’S NOT A SHELTER, IT’S A HOME.”

Region, based on Highway 11 in East Gwillimbury,.

“The usual stereotype of a homeless person is dirty, bigbearded, and begging for change,“ said Braithwaite “And so if you’re 16 to 25, you’re like, ‘I’m not like that, I’m not that guy.’”

Many youth experiencing homelessness are embarrassed by their situation and try to be as unnoticeable as possible, but appearance doesn’t tell the whole story.

“They avoid shelters, many of them walk around all night and then you’ll see them sleeping in school,” Braithwaite said. “People will judge them as a lazy kid.”

“But they’re wrong, that’s the first time that kid felt safe all day, they’re exhausted because they’re scared to close their eyes at night,” Braithwaite said.

Shelters are not the long-term answer, he said. The solutions are more complex and interrelated.

“It’s all about providing opportunities and making sure we fix broken systems, homelessness is a solvable problem,” Braithwaite said.

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DEC 3, 2021

NEWS - 5

Bad weather, poor growing conditions blamed for Christmas tree shortage Eric Reid

News Reporter Operators of the many tree farms around the GTA said the rush is on and they may run out of stock well before Christmas.

“I expect hundreds to go in the next two weeks, which is early,” said Dan MacPherson, of MacPherson Christmas Tree Farm in Whitchurch-Stouffville.

“I usually go all the way right up until Christmas.”

He said supply in British Columbia has been hit especially hard this season as the province has suffered a series of wildfires, extreme heat surges and flooding attributed to climate change.

Growing Christmas trees is not a quick process. Trees can take anywhere from three to 10 years to grow in optimal conditions.

Experts say it will become harder to keep up with demand,

especially in parts of the country experiencing poor growing conditions due to climate change and weather events.

Muhammad Altaf Arain, director of McMaster University’s Centre for Climate Change in Hamilton, said climate change will impact the growing season.

“In warmer temperatures, growing will [take] longer,” said the professor, who is also with the School of Geography and Earth Sciences. “We are already seeing the evidence. A longer growing season would be good for plants and trees in colder regions if there are ... no droughts or nutrients available.

“However, over long time periods, warmer temperatures are not good for the growth of conifer tree species,” he said.

MacPherson said Ontario is lucky and “unlike B.C., dealing with awful events, we are doing

okay.”

Fraser fir, Scotch pine and white spruce are among the most sought-after trees each holiday season. The value of Christmas tree sales in Canada was $91.2 million in 2017, according to StatCan. The demand has increased during the pandemic with families and friends looking for ways to celebrate, such as picking out a live holiday tree and decorating it together. Brad Clements of Clembrook Farms in Milton, Ont., said customers still have many options to choose from, but might not get the type of tree they want.

“If people are flexible in what they are looking for, they will be able to find a great option still,” Clements said.

IKEA is traditionally a popular spot for many to pick up a tree, but supply chain issues have prompted the company to write

ANNIE SPRATT/UNSPLASH

Unfavourable growing conditions have caused a Christmas tree shortage, with some companies unable to carry them altogether.

off this Christmas season altogether.

“We know live trees have been a much-loved tradition for IKEA and our customers over many years and we sincerely apologize,” IKEA said in a statement

posted to its website.

With record-breaking storms and heat waves ruining crops, the frantic hunt for a Christmas tree with the possibility of not finding one may become a new annual tradition.

Coyotes prowling suburbia for food becoming a common sight Trishelle Dotson News Reporter

Errol Johnson knew that running a pest service he would deal with possums, raccoons and stray cats, but he never expected to add coyotes to the list.

“I just saw a coyote a few weeks ago walking up to my street. You are seeing more and more of them every day,” Johnson said.

The owner of Genesis Lawn and Maintenance Services has been bombarded with neighbourhood complaints of coyotes roaming the streets in his Brampton community.

He said coyotes are not animals he wants to encounter.

“My neighbours have seen them come right up onto their property. They are getting very desperate,” he said.

Coyote sightings have become more frequent. Human and dog attacks are being reported to wildlife protection services such as municipal humane societies and the Ontario Wildlife Rescue.

“Coyotes aren’t just the average obedient dog that you keep in your house,” Johnson said. “They are the wild cousin that comes over and wrecks everything in sight.”

The City of Toronto said in a news release that coyotes are not generally a threat to people, and usually only pose a threat to pets such as cats and small dogs.

However, if not handled properly, they

might act aggressively toward humans. to do and what not to do upon seeing a Two people were attacked in a park in coyote.

North York in October, a three-year-old “We often see conflicts when people feed boy and a six-year-old girl were attacked them. Each situation is unique, though,” in Oshawa on two separate occasions this said Lia Laskaris, treasurer for the summer and Animal Proa young girl tection Party was chased of Canada. by a coyote The party in Scarboris committed ough after it to protecting attacked her and predog. serving the “Coyotes rights of all are naturally animals. They timid and hope to make flee when the world a confronted place where aggressively,” h u m a n s the city stateand animent said. mals coexist “Never run without the away from a fear of viocoyote. Avoid lence or turning your h o s t i l i t y. back, mainWhile fear is tain eye expected, one MANA5280/UNSPLASH contact and should never Toronto and Coyote Watch Canada say access to slowly back try to hurt a food is a likely cause of increase in coyote sightings. away.” coyote.

Peel SPCA Coyotes are has outlined coyote precautions such as on the move because of deforestation making sure small dogs are never left along with commercial and residential unattended and how to keep them off developments. Humans have wiped out your property. They also outline what their natural habitats and food supplies,

leaving them searching for other means to survive.

Coyote Watch Canada reports that what people believe to be multiple sightings are often the same coyote in search of food. Invitations such as overflowing garbage, open compost bags, and bird feeders attract a various range of prey.

Coyotes will see this as a free dinner and will continue to visit the same spot.

Johnson has seen multiple instances of this lately.

“If you are starving and you know there is a place you can always get food, wouldn’t you keep going back?” he said.

Coyotes have been seen knocking over garbage bins and searching for small dogs in his area, and Johnson said he understands why the coyotes are searching.

“Feeding wild animals, including coyotes, is detrimental and can create problems for the neighbourhood,” the City of Toronto said.

While there are many protections put in place for humans, no one protects the animals. Though coyotes are considered wild animals, what humans need to remember is that they were here before the roads, buildings, and shopping malls.

“They’re hungry. We can’t ruin their homes and then wonder why they come wandering into ours,” Johnson said. “We need to coexist otherwise the food chain is about to change in a way that doesn’t put us at the top.”

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6 - ARTS

DEC 3, 2021

MAP program allows free access to cultural sites around Toronto Barbara Patrocinio Arts Reporter

AP PHOTO/THIBAULT CAMUS

Virgil Abloh, centre, poses with models at the Off-White Fall-Winter 2019-2020 collection in February 2019.

Virgil Abloh dead at 41, leaves fashion community ‘devastated’ Karl Lewis

Arts Reporter Local and international creatives came together this week as they reflected on the impact fashion designer Virgil Abloh had on their lives.

“It’s devastating in so many ways not just to me but the entire world, he was only 41 years old and has inspired a lot in all art forms,” said Anston Singh, a fashion influencer and creative director in Toronto.

Singh, who is popularly known by his followers as “almost guilty”, recalls memories he shared with Abloh.

“We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh,” reads the caption on his official Instagram page on Sunday.

Abloh was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2019 called cardiac angiosarcoma. He later decided to deal with his illness privately and was off the scene since his diagnosis. He was 41 when he died.

“I was connected to him through his work very early,” Singh said. “I wanted to be like him as he was one of the very few people that I saw in a space that looked like me, and I can’t

explain how powerful that was.”

An icon and lover of streetwear fashion, Abloh was widely appreciated by the community he served. He managed to enter spaces Black designers and creators have dreamt of entering and has been rewarded for his exceptional contributions.

From the creation of his own brand OFFWhite to working with celebrities such as Kanye West, Beyonce Knowles and even Barack Obama, Virgil Abloh was a household name in the Black community.

“My style is directly influenced

by Virgil, for the past decade he was responsible for a lot of the trends we now follow. He influenced a lot of brands as they are now following the styles he wanted us to be in many years ago,” Singh said.

Abloh was awarded as international designer of the year at GQ Men in 2017. And was recently honoured by Vogue at this year’s staging of the Fashion Award in London.

“We are all shocked by this terrible news,” Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault wrote.

Louis Vuitton named Abloh its new menswear designer in 2018, just a year before he was diagnosed. The company

released Abloh’s recent work at its Summer 2022 Collection in Miami on Nov. 30 with a memorial to commemorate his journey and style.

Celebrities, fashion models, influencers and everyone in the industry posted on their social media pages, expressing what they called “a great loss.”

For Canadian fashion model, Malcolm Mokwe, the loss of Abloh was personal.

“It has always been my dream to work with Virgil, I remember when I used to watch his fashion shows and hope to be on the runway one day,” Mokwe said.

“I was devastated knowing that I will never get to work with one of my idols.”

However, Aston Singh’s memory of the designer stood out. Singh has been to recent shows which Abloh curated and has experienced his work first hand. For him, Abloh was more than just his idol. He was like a mentor.

“When I first met him I literally waited outside a club until 3 a.m. hoping to catch him walking out the back entrance,” Singh said, recalling his first meeting with Abloh.

Abloh is survived by his immediate family, work family and those who admire his work.

Patricia Flamboyant went to the Art Gallery of Ontario for the first time as the MAP Pass and Toronto’s Public Library card allowed her to access Picasso: Painting the Blue Period.

“I never imagined that I could see so many artworks by renowned and world-famous artists without paying anything for it. In my mind, this was always something very far from my reality,” said Flamboyant, who last month switched to the freezing weather in Toronto from the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

Thanks to Toronto’s Public Library’s Museum + Arts Program, all Toronto residents are allowed to borrow free passes to many local museums and art galleries around the city. In addition, you can also have free access to plays and musical concerts — and even to the popular Toronto Zoo. “Next week, I’m going to organize myself to go to the zoo. Admission is usually around $30, and I don’t know when I’d be able to make this visit without the MAP,” Flamboyant said.

The MAP Program started in 2007 and is an initiative that allows visits to various establishments in the city, promoting culture and democratizing access for all. The program returned this year on Nov. 20, after a period of online activities in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now everyone can explore the arts of Muslim civilizations through exhibitions, workshops, and live arts performances at the Aga Khan Museum, and enjoy dinosaurs, mummies, Chinese architecture and precious jewels at the Royal Ontario Museum just by showing their MAP Pass and their library card.

Or one can visit the collection of 15,000 shoes and related artifacts at the Bata Shoe Museum on Bloor Street West, where 4,500 years of footwear history are displayed in four distinctive rotating galleries. This museum also offers innovative exhibitions, besides exciting workshops and programs.

Among the options available is also the Gardiner Museum, one of the few museums in the world focused on ceramics, and one of the most important specialty museums worldwide.

For Amiko Kung, who was unaware of the initiative, the MAP Pass was the incentive she needed to get her card from Toronto’s Public Library.

“I had no idea I could go to all these places for free. Now I’m definitely going to get a library card and save some money,” she said. “I think all the cultural options are interesting, but I think my first choice will be some theatre or musical concert so I can bring my boyfriend.”

Yanika Saluja, who went to Fort York National Historic Site, said the MAP Program is an amazing opportunity.

“It is amazing to have the possibility of accessing so many cultural places for free,” she said.

To check out a MAP Pass, visit a Toronto Public Library branch and request a pass to the location of interest. One pass is permitted per person, per week. Each venue has its own restrictions on the number of people admitted with a single pass, but generally, each pass admits two adults and two children. It is possible to take companions to explore the city.

Visit the Toronto Public Library’s website to see which branches of Toronto’s Public Library are offering passes to participating venues.

ETC

DEC 3, 2021

ARTS - 7

Women organize all-female tournaments to escape gaming misogyny

Samantha Little Arts Reporter

Women are carving out their own safe spaces in the gaming world by organizing women-only teams, tournaments and Discords, free from the sexism they encounter in co-ed competitions.

“I like the idea of women-only tournaments and teams,” said Monica Penny, Humber Esports social media assistant.

“I would participate in them myself if I was given the chance, and I’m a big fan of Cloud 9 White, Cloud 9’s female Valorant team, and watch them compete regularly,” she said.

Some women gamers are helping these gaming tournaments and teams become more popular by streaming the event live on their platform.

Ivie Hope, a female gamer and live streamer who has competed in women-only tournaments since 2014, recently won three women-only gaming tournaments.

“I stream most of my matches.

It’s a great way for me to get my name out there while competing,” Hope said. “I like winning with other girls, and

JAZLYN MIA JIMENEZ

Paige Richmond (left) and Jazlyn Mia Jimenez (right) create and host women-only gaming tournaments so that female gamers have an environment where women don’t feel alone or harassed by men while they play.

showing that women can do exactly what the guys do.”

Hope and gamers like her would not be able to compete without tournament organizers such as Paige Richmond, who has hosted multiple tournaments such as the Crown of Empress Valorant Tournament and multiple Call of Duty tournaments in the past year.

TALES FROM HUMBER

“I created women-only tournaments because I wanted the female community to have a safe place to be able to compete and bring all of them together so they didn’t feel alone,” Richmond said.

“Some people aren’t very supportive of the female community, so this year I decided to open the eyes of those people

who refuse to see what they can do,” she said.

Female gamers have also created Discord servers — online platforms for chatting — only for women, where they compete in tournaments or play together as a team.

The Galorants Discord is an example of a safe women-only gaming server.

“The toxicity women face in gaming is what encouraged me to help create this platform,” said Nicolette Barker, Galorants owner and co-creator.

“Now, the lack of opportunities in all areas, competitive and production, growth is what encourages me to continue growing and improving Galorants for both women and non-binary participants in the scene,” Barker said.

Galorants is partnered with Riot Games and Gen.G to host the VCT Game Changers Academy, a series of tournaments dedicated to assisting newer teams that are at the grassroots level.

“We also assist with the main events, VCT Game Changers, as a means of verification and admin assistance,” Barker said. “Aside from that, we host in-house events, and lower-ranked tournaments.”

The Galorant Discord has a verification system that includes photo identification with the member’s username to ensure only women can join the Discord.

This keeps the Discord area free of trolls, sexism, and harassment female gamers often face to ensure women have a positive experience while communicating.

Harassed, abused, threatened online just for being a woman gamer

Samantha Little Arts Reporter

A

s a kid, I was socially anxious. I didn’t know how to talk to people, so video games were how I expressed myself and made friends.

I began playing at a young age, starting with simple games such as Mario, Nintendogs and Minecraft. They were great for a while, but eventually I got bored

and wanted competition.

At 13, after begging my parents for an Xbox, I was introduced to the world of online gaming. I started playing games such as Call of Duty, which is an eye-opener for anyone who isn’t used to the community.

The first thing I heard when I joined the game was vulgar language and screaming. I remember jumping out of my skin at the sound of a man’s loud raspy voice yelling at his team.

Although the game is fun, the gaming community is not a positive place, especially for young girls.

I have a Minecraft YouTube channel that reached more than 20,000 subscribers. While streaming I would experience a lot of harassment because of my gender.

One male viewer would use a

dislike bot every time I was live to make it appear as if hundreds of people disliked my stream. I had a conversation with him about it.

He told me the reason my platform grew a lot faster than his was because I was a girl, so I didn’t deserve my success.

As I got older I found a love for a new game called Valorant.

Throughout my gaming experience I have been mocked, degraded, verbally harassed.

I have received death threats, heard so-called jokes about sexually assaulting me when I was just 16.

My information was also leaked online at one point, which resulted in me receiving a lot of threats and being afraid for my safety.

Although none of these threats were followed through, they scared me. I kept it from my

parents because I knew if I told them they wouldn’t let me play.

So I always had to fight the battles alone.

This took a toll on my mental health. I found myself losing my voice trying to scream over everyone’s sexist remarks. The worst feeling was when my male friends listened to what other boys were saying, but sat back and did nothing because it’s normalized in the community.

Although sexism made it hard, the constant teasing and nagging are what pushed me to get better. I was sick of being told I wasn’t good enough, so I worked on getting better.

I practiced day and night. But the more I improved the worse the abuse got.

I would perform the best in the game and a boy at the bottom of

the leaderboard would still be yelling at me, asking: “Why are you not getting your nails done, or shopping?”

It wasn’t all bad. Although I experienced a lot of harm from the community, I have also met many good people, like my best friend, Sarah, who I have known since I was 13. I also met my boyfriend from playing video games and we have been dating for more than a year. And with adversity comes lessons. I came to realize I wasn’t the problem.

The community was. No matter how well I performed I would never be fully accepted or welcome.

Now, I take everything I’ve experienced as a woman in a hostile realm as a reminder to treat people kindly, and do my best to make sure others do the same.

ETC

8 - ARTS

DEC 3, 2021

Cineplex fumbles Spider-Man: No Way Home ticket release Jesse Glazer Arts Reporter

Fans expecting to buy tickets to Spider-Man: No Way Home on Sunday night were instead met with disappointment and a disrupted night’s sleep.

The movie is slated for release on Dec. 17, and fans were told in aglobal marketing campaign from Sony Pictures Entertainment tickets would go on sale at midnight Nov. 29. The announcement about tickets came simultaneously with the release of a new trailer, which has been seen almost 50 million times in less than two weeks.

“Last night, I stayed up until about 1 a.m. just refreshing and hoping somewhere would be selling tickets in my area or local theatre,” said Spider-Man fan Joey Lake.

“I didn’t fully sleep until almost 3 a.m. and only got about two hours of sleep because I had

OPINION

to work the next morning,” said Lake, a wrestler with Hamilton Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and a YouTube content producer.

He wasn’t alone.

Fans across Canada and the U.S. encountered server crashes, error messages or even “no showtimes yet” messages on sites like Cineplex – Canada’s largest theatre chain. For Lake, this was a miserable process.

“The most frustrating part about all of this was me staying up late and having high hopes I would go to bed with my tickets, but even after checking all over the internet seeing nothing from Cineplex, it was a lost cause,” Lake said.

“I basically stayed up late for nothing,” he said. “It truly messed me up.”

Many anticipated a midnight release of tickets, as had been advertised on Twitter, Instagram and various social media platforms. But fans in Canada didn’t

see tickets or even showtimes made available.

Tickets in Canada were made available 12 hours after their expected release.

Cineplex told Et Cetera they love how excited fans are about the upcoming film, but the problems on Cineplex’s website were because tickets hadn’t been released despite the marketing from Sony.

The confusion lay in why that was.

“Advanced tickets for this film were always set to launch at 12 noon EST on our site,” said Samantha Shecter, communications officer at Cineplex.

While Cineplex may have been aware of that, fans weren’t. Fans were left in the dark, waiting for hours in the middle of the night with no answers.

This isn’t the first time Cineplex has had issues marketing ticket sales for films, especially Marvel films.

SONY PICTURES

Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in his third solo film from Sony and Marvel, the most anticipated film of the 2021 holidays.

For Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals, no notice was released about when advance tickets would be available. Fans stumbled upon it either through the app or the website.

Ari Matchen, a Toronto resident and Spider-Man fan, thinks there’s a disconnect between

Sony and Cineplex.

“Cineplex should’ve been more in tune to bring Canadians the same experience as Americans,” he said.

Matchen said despite the problems, the people who lost out on this are the most dedicated Spider-Man film fans.

Successful video game movies continue to elude Hollywood

Nicholas Seles Arts Editor

V

ideo games have advanced graphically to the point where the line between real and fake is sometimes getting blurred. Yet for a medium that has pushed itself to become more cinematic, it continues to fail when it comes to being a movie.

Video game movies have plagued Hollywood for close to three decades now. Super Mario Brothers, released in 1993, was one of the first major adaptations and is really only remembered for being a horribly translated product with hilarious creature designs. Since then, popular IPs like Mortal Kombat,

Tomb Raider, Resident Evil, and even Pokémon have all gotten cracks at the theatre marquee.

But when it comes time to craft the stories, Hollywood – for whatever reason – opts to alter the stories that are already laid out for them.

Artistic freedom is understandable. As a filmmaker, you want to make something your own, but I also believe “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The recent Resident Evil film is a painfully glaring example.

The survival horror franchise had three instalments between 1996 and 1999: Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Each game follows different events surrounding a zombie outbreak in the fictional Raccoon City. The new film, directed by Johannes Roberts, mashes the first two games into one while simultaneously setting up a sequel but erases the third video game’s premise as being an option for the film sequel.

Combining these elements wouldn’t be too bad had it been done a lot better than it was while keeping the characters faithful to their playable coun-

SCREEN GEMS

Chris (Robbie Amell) and Claire Redfield (Kaya Scodelario) are among the more faithful character adaptations in the new Resident Evil film.

terparts. Instead, we’re left with a hollow, poorly-made movie that barely captures the spirit of Resident Evil.

It’s worth noting that studios and writers are not expected to adapt every little detail. We don’t need characters walking through every hallway or repeating every action. A Resident Evil movie where Chris Redfield spends six hours wandering a dark mansion is not appealing in the least.

Rather, a tightly edited 100-

minute movie that highlights important story beats, iconic set pieces and character moments all while focusing on one game rather than two is greatly preferred.

While the argument can be made that if we want one-on-one adaptations we can just revisit the games, telling the story as a movie is a different experience entirely.

It’s the ability to remove yourself from the driver’s seat, so to speak, and be a passive participant. Video games are fun but sometimes it’s

just as fun to watch those stories play out without being the one to make the decisions.

YouTube content creators like Markiplier and Jacksepticeye have become famous for the genre of videos now known as “Let’s Play,” where viewers watch them play a game through to completion. The episodes are livened up by the creator’s commentary and style, but overall, it allows people to enjoy the game without having to play.

The very same concept can be applied to Hollywood and their adaptations, but that sadly eludes them.

Upcoming productions like the Halo series, HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us and Illumination’s Super Mario movie may begin to turn the tides on the genre.

Hollywood follows the money and as with any trend, the current superhero trend won’t last forever, and when that happens, studios will want something new.

Until they grasp the simple concept of not messing with stories and characters, it’s best to keep your Nintendo or PlayStation handy to enjoy your favourite games’ stories.

ETC

DEC 3, 2021

LIFE - 9

Cosmetic procedures on the rise during pandemic Carter Roy

News Reporter Alessandra Serpe works with Toronto nightclub promoters and got a lip filler procedure done as she loves to play around with her look.

“I had lips on the thinner side and wanted more room for lipstick,” Serpe said. “Social media played a part in me getting filler.

Seeing young celebrities like Kylie Jenner get it done made it normal and in style with today’s times.”

Social media has changed the perspectives on life and beauty.

So much so that The Plastic Surgery Clinic in Toronto reported cosmetic surgeries, like the Brazilian butt lift, breast augmentation and liposuction, have risen in the last decade.

There is a steady parade of ads with models who have perfect bodies and glowing skin.

The growth of interest for cosmetic procedures makes those

who have to get work done for their health urge people to weigh the pros and cons.

Emily Herbert, a receptionist in Markham, Ont., got a mandatory breast reduction and liposuction in 2016 due to severe back and neck pain. She thinks people should think before going ahead with such a serious surgery.

“People today want implants or liposuction so badly, but they don’t even know what the risks of these surgeries are,” Herbert said.

Before her surgery in 2016, Herbert did not want to undergo surgery because of the local anesthesia. Although, because of the pain she was experiencing, she felt it was needed to help with her physical health.

“Had it not been causing me brutal back pain, I wouldn’t have undergone it. Experiencing the recovery process turned me off from surgeries,” she said.

People striving for perfection are making cosmetic procedures more normalized. People are becoming more open to the ideas of treatments too.

A survey by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reported 11 per cent of the 1,000 women who responded that during the COVID-19 pandemic they became more interested and open to getting plastic surgery and non-surgical procedures.

The survey showed 35 per cent of women who already had cosmetic procedures plan to spend more on these treatments in the future.

Casey Rochon, who works an office job by day in Toronto and is also a social media buff, said the internet creates a schism between the desire for physical change and reality.

“Addictions to social media cause a disconnect between people and what is real,” Rochon

MARCUS CHUNG/UNSPLASH

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), 11 per cent of women surveyed said that during the COVID-19 pandemic they became open to getting plastic surgery and non-surgical procedures.

said.

“There’s been times I wanted to sit and visit someone but they’re consumed by their Insta-

gram feed and looking at photos of how they want to change their hair, style, even body proportions,” she said.

Global food shortages hit Canadian produce aisles Megan Rampersaud News Reporter

For Patty Carrabs, a bakery clerk at Garden Foods grocery store in Bolton, Ont., climate change and supply-chain challenges are showing up in the produce section.

“Earlier this year our bananas, grapes and strawberries weren’t as full as they would normally be,” Carrabs said. “We needed to source other imports and they’re dealing with shortages, too.”

As Christmas approaches, grocery stores and restaurants will face high demand for seasonal fruits and vegetables that may not be available because of the impact of global climate change.

“I picked up whatever was available for my family that lives nearby, because fruits and vegetables would sell out so quickly,” Carrabs said.

Paola Di Tomasso, manager at Zehrs grocery in Bolton, Ont., said the uncertainty of supply is likely to be an ongoing issue.

“We really don’t know what the long-term effects are going to be or even the short-term effects, into the climate change,”

MEGAN RAMPERSAUD

The global impacts of climate change, supply chain challenges and stockpiling have affected the grocery store’s ability to keep shelves stocked.

Di Tomasso said.

“It’s going to definitely change the way that we buy produce, where we buy produce from, and how we grow it,” she said.

The inconsistency of supply brings its own problems.

Delays in receiving perishable produce, followed by a large amount arriving at once, can result in waste and added costs, including the labour costs of salvaging and repackaging product.

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association released a statement last month — that’s supported by producers in Canada and the U.S. — that warned of increased costs and supply-chain issues threatening the long-term viability of the industry.

Challenges facing the industry include crippling congestion in North American ports, the cascading effects of inconsistent product delivery, labour short-

ages along the supply line, panic buying and stockpiling by consumers and exploding container costs.

And, as is often the case, rising prices will likely have a disproportionately large impact on lower-income families, according to a recent survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute.

Richard Pitteway, manager of the Humber Room campus

restaurant, said the agriculture and agri-food industries will be forced to adapt to changing conditions around the world.

“Will there be more greenhouses in Canada? I believe there will,” he said.

“I think more produce being grown locally in a greenhouse affect can help this problem for Canada,” Pitteway said. “There is always innovation that comes along with these kinds of things.”

ETC

10 - OPINION

DEC 3, 2021

EDITORIAL

Climate change is a crisis that demands collective action

T

he Earth is increasingly getting warmer, from the North Pole to the South Pole. According to research from Global Change, the world’s average surface temperature has risen by more than 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 C, since 1880 and even more so in sensitive polar regions.

The impacts of rising temperatures are now not in some farflung future. The consequences of global climate change are happening right now. The heat is melting sea ice and glaciers, changing rain patterns, and setting animals on the move due to habitat destruction.

Additionally, Canada also witnessed a more recent display of the climate crisis wrath that can be seen in forest fires, air pollution and more recently, the flooding in British Columbia.

AccuWeather reported the once-in-500-year flooding event triggered by heavy rainfall caused devastating, widespread damage across B.C. The flood washed away bridges, swallowed highways, cut off railroads, took at least four lives and left thousands stranded as recovery and rescue efforts continue.

According to Climate Action Network, Canada’s annual average temperature is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, due to expansive landmass which comprises several climate regions.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/RYAN REMIORZ

Students take part in a climate change protest in Montreal on Sept. 24, 2021, demanding the world act now.

Now more than ever, battling the climate crisis is crucial to the wellbeing and survival of beings around the world.

An NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) study revealed that since 2005, the ten warmest years of Earth have been recorded, including each of the last seven years.

So what is the world doing about this? After all, this collective fault requires collective measures. If not, the planet will be doomed, and we along with it.

There is no denying world leaders are beginning to take the matter of climate change more seriously. However, for now, they are not at levels sufficient to

fully address the problem.

Part of the drag is world leaders whose administrations opposed efforts to reduce the production and the use of fossil fuels, which are coupled with the majority of nations responding slowly towards climate change crisis.

At the UN-led COP26 climate summit, world leaders pledged on Nov. 1 to combat the climate change crisis.

U.S. President Joe Biden urged other world leaders in Glasgow to embark on a shift to clean energy in order to combat the climate change crisis.

“Right now, we’re still falling short,” he said. “There’s no more time to hang back or sit

on the fence or argue amongst ourselves. This is the challenge of our collective lifetimes, the existential threat to human existence as we know it and every day we delay, the cost of inaction increases. So, let this be the moment when we answer history’s call here in Glasgow. Let this be the start of a decade of transformative action.”

Following the same footsteps, the Indian PM Narendra Modi, shared his plans for battling the climate crisis. He announced at the COP26 climate summit that India will achieve clean and green by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, he said.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris

Johnson said there were no compelling excuses for procrastinating. “Not only have we acknowledged the problem, we have already seen firsthand the devastation that climate change causes – heatwaves and droughts to wildfires and hurricanes,” he said.

The UN’s Annual Adaptation Gap Report shows that nations have a long way to go. The report also highlights that while three out of four nations realize the need for direct action to adapt to ongoing changes, few have actually developed plans sufficient to address it.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it will take a global initiative to stem the looming crisis.

“Tackling the climate crisis will take all of us,” he said.

“Together, the global community needs to accelerate new and bold approaches to fighting climate change and building cleaner economies.”

It’s hard to say whether the climate plans of world leaders can get us where we need to be.

However, failing to adapt to the realities of climate change and not confronting the crisis head-on will most certainly endanger lives, disrupt biospheres and food chains, force even more migration of climate refugees, and possibly even destabilize governments. Frankly, the world can’t afford that.

Older generations misunderstand Gen Z’s financial situation

T

hinking about the future is an exercise in and of itself. What’s ahead is uncertain but those of us in Generation Z are surely going to pick up the pieces left behind by the ones who came before.

Our parents and grandparents talk about the days when houses and cars were affordable on jobs that now barely carry someone through a single season.

It is getting increasingly harder to look forward to the future.

Our generation — born between the years 1997 to 2012 — has spent so many years hearing about the importance of education only then to hear about how hard it is to make it in any profession.

It becomes upsetting to know that no

matter how hard you study, how hard you work to learn something you’re interested in, it can often come down to who you know over what you know. At minimum wage.

It’s no longer possible to work a job while going to school, having a space to live as well as being able to afford bills and other necessities. The issue is that our incomes didn’t follow the pace of the costs for these things.

We’re moving into a time where we’re living at home for longer periods of time because of the skyrocketing costs of buying or renting a home. It seems like we’re going backwards, not forward, much like how it was common for extended families to live under one roof

prior to the Second World War. But the concept of extended families feels like it is one of the more reasonable — and affordable — options now.

According to the Government of Canada’s 2019 Canadian Financial Capability Survey, since 2019 a little more than 70 per cent of Canadians are struggling because of outstanding debts.

The pandemic also showed us that learning and working remotely offered an alternative to the commonplace practice of having to go to work or school. So much so that students and workers in a number of industries, including our own in the media, are seeking more time to work from home which deviates greatly from the routine we’ve come to know.

Students adapted to work from home because of the pandemic, and it was a relief, a financial relief. Some students who drive to school, work, and elsewhere live that stress. Some people of the previous generations don’t understand the difficulty of having to juggle all these responsibilities — a work week piled on top of a secondary school week piled on not having enough money.

The solution is that the world needs to move forward collectively. If costs go up, wages should too. Working for eight or more hours a day, five days a week should not result in barely getting by and having to pick and choose what to pay for — food, transportation or shelter — at the end of the month.

ETC

DEC 3, 2021

OPINION - 11

OPINION Perfectionism taught me to hate myself, the pain it caused led me to accept myself

Alex Muzychko News Reporter

A

s is true for most people, my childhood is a significant building block of the person I am today. I have so many good memories from my childhood. But others created a monster.

Growing up in a religious Russian community — where being seen as “a good girl” is very important — was not easy. As a child, I felt a lot of pressure to be

the best Christian girl among the rest. I grew up feeling like a bug under a microscope. I was picked apart for everything and always compared to girls around me.

I began to compare myself to others as well. And no one was harsher on me than me.

Throughout my adolescence, I became a toxic perfectionist.

My obsession with looking perfect and being skinny developed into body dysmorphia. Nothing about myself made me happy.

The primary thing I could not stand was my weight.

Being skinny became the priority in my life and I forgot what was really important, which is my health. I began to lose weight in unhealthy ways.

Pandemic lockdowns were in effect when I entered my first year of college, and everyone was sitting at home, including me. During that time, I began using social media a lot more.

Posting on social media made me feel better about myself because I would receive validation from other people.

I had a delusion that validation was a ticket out of my misery.

But I was completely missing the mark. I was doing the same thing I did as a little girl. I was feeding off the praise of others, dependent on their approval because I believed their opinion mattered more than my own.

I soon concluded this was not how I wanted to live my life anymore. Slowly, I realized this dynamic was the source of almost all the issues I faced. I was so focused on trying to make people like me that I completely forgot that the only person I should worry about liking me, was me.

Once I acknowledged this reality, I knew I needed to put a stop to this unhealthy way of living. This past summer, I com-

Veganism has been steadily growing in countries around the globe. While poultry, dairy, and meat products offer the right protein and nutrients needed, the consumption of these products is becoming more dangerous with each passing year.

Milk is made with added hormones and chemicals, animals are used for breeding, eggs are injected with steroids, and so much more. There have been reports of animal cruelty in large factories producing meat and milk in higher quantities.

This makes it clear that people are moving towards a healthier, plant-based lifestyle to improve their health, protect animals, and save the environment.

While research reported in Science Daily indicated vegans might lack sufficient nutrient intake, another study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed a vegan-based diet offers more fibre, with less cholesterol, saturated fat, total fat. Deficiencies in vitamins and other nutrients, like B12 and calcium, can be avoided through supplements.

The increasing demand for vegan food spurred the restau-

rant industry has undergone changes to appeal to the demand.

Many restaurants, cafés and eateries have introduced plantbased options in their menus to cater to their vegan customers.

Many fast-food joints are incorporating vegan options into their menu. For example, McDonald’s has introduced plant-based burgers and other options for their vegan consumers. Taco Bell, Burger King, Starbucks and more have also included multiple vegan options for customers, making it more vegan-friendly.

A vegan diet can provide multiple health benefits, from lowering heart-related diseases to providing essential nutrients and vitamins.

Since adhering to a strict vegan diet, it has really helped me manage my diabetes and contributed to weight loss. I lost eight-to-10 pounds of extra weight and I’m allergy-free as I don’t consume dairy.

The plant-based diet has also been found to lower inflammation and improve gut health, and managing Type 2 diabetes.

Veganism is also beneficial for animal welfare as people are willing to protect animals and

mitted to change. I took my focus off my appearance and onto my friends and relationships. I found healthy hobbies that I still turn to for stress relief. I began to move away from obsessively judging myself.

The biggest step I took was telling my best friend about my problem. When I opened up to her, she gave me the biggest gift.

The knowledge that I was not alone.

I learned others had undergone similar experiences and knew what I was going through.

I learned some of these feelings are normal, that it’s okay not to be perfect.

At any particular time, according to the EatWell Health Centre, between 600,000 and 990,000 Canadians fit diagnostic criteria for eating disorders.

About 80 per cent of them are women. Adolescents and young adults are at the highest risk

for developing eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia.

As I learned more, I discovered that even people who seem to have it all can have problems like my own.

Model Alexis Ren shared her experience with eating disorders in a 2017 Cosmopolitan article.

She said there was a dark backstory to some of her modelling photos. She was in a “toxic state of mind,” and suffered from food guilt. She exercised compulsively to punish herself if she thought she ate too much that day.

Such stories helped to liberate me from the trap of perfectionism.

I try now to focus on the things that really matter. Of course I still have moments when I’m unhappy with my appearance.

I still have times when I think I could change some things.

The difference now is, when I do, I only do it for myself.

Growth in vegan alternatives is better for us and the planet

Ayesha Raizada Life Editor

T

he vegan lifestyle has become prevalent around the world and is becoming more mainstream as more and more people turn to veganism.

However, with the increasing focus in veganism, there has also been criticism towards the lifestyle.

Why has there been such an increase in veganism? It is because of the numerous benefits it offers.

Numerous critics are brushing it off as merely a fad that will gradually fade away. Others highlight the advantages of veganism, not just for humans but also for animals and the environment.

ELLEOLSSON/UNSPLASH

The mainstream availability of meat substitutes means veganism is more accessible to those who are curious about plant-based alternatives.

stop their ill-treatment by consuming vegan-based foods.

Many people have started avoiding animal products and turned to veganism to save the environment from further harm.

A study published in the Lancet suggests a plant-based diet is not only good for people’s health but also that of the planet. The UN and WHO say meat production creates methane gas and requires more resources to produce. Intensive operations at factories has a major impact on the environment,

in deforestation, water pollution and greenhouse emissions.

Research and statistics have clearly shown a drastic increase in veganism over the past few years. Sales of meat substitutes in Canada is expected to reach $226.7 million next year, up from $119.9 million in 2015. Consumers have become more healthy and environmentally conscious and are making informed decisions.

But honestly, I love my vegan lifestyle.

ETC

12 - SPORTS

DEC 3, 2021

Hawks thrash rival Bruins 101-78 in exhibition game

HUMBER ATHLETICS

Frank Mitchell, 20, forward for the Humber Hawks goes up for the jumper during the teams blow out win in exhibition over the Sheridan Bruins.

Khiana Gutierrez News Reporter

Humber’s men’s basketball team topped rival Sheridan for the second time this season, coming off a perfect exhibition games record in November.

The Hawks established their

ground and set the tone during warmups. The team had their game faces on and their head in the game, and showed it with consecutive free throws, lay-ups and a windmill dunk.

Kevin Otoo, starting guard for the Humber’s men’s basketball team, said he was just “doing

TALES FROM HUMBER

what I do best” in leading the Hawks to a 101-78 thrashing of rival Sheridan Bruins on Wednesday.

The women’s team also routed the Bruins by 110-57.

“Just attacking, to be honest,” said Otoo, a six-foot Brampton native who has turned in three

career double-doubles. He said he used his athleticism and his acceleration to get to the rim.

“I don’t think many people can stay in front of me off the ball,” Otoo said.

The Hawks soared after the opening jump ball, and built a 54-39 lead going into the half-

time break.

The Hawks, out-battling Sheridan for rebounds and loose balls, showed up with energy and imposed their will on the Bruins early.

The crowd was in for a treat during the fourth quarter. The ball movement was fast-paced and the Hawks did not stop their momentum until the clock hit its final buzzer.

Frank Mitchell, a six-footeight first-year forward for Humber, also played with infectious passion, yelling in triumph after slams that delighted the crowd and his teammates.

“Came in, played alright, and established my position on the team,” said Mitchell, checking off his list to win.

Prior to the pandemic, the bleachers were jam-packed with Hawk fans. The rivalry still stands to this day, but the crowd is smaller due to social distancing guidelines.

“The crowd was in it, we were in it, it was fun,” Otoo said.

The Hawks’ third consecutive win this season may have been a fun-filled outing for some, but Mitchell said it did send a powerful message on the court.

“We’re not playing around,” he said.

Finding the joy, and balance, in life while lacing up my soccer boots

Jack Albanna Sports Reporter

T

he day of the week I look forward to most is Sunday, when I can lace up my boots and play soccer in a league.

I arrive at the indoor arena in uniform, freezing my tail off outside and ignoring the need

for added layers in my childish excitement. In the dressing room, a song is cued on our speaker while we get ready. There was a brief moment of butterflies when I heard the whistle ending the game before us and I got ready to set foot on the pitch.

Playing soccer has been my hobby since I was seven. It gives me the opportunity to express myself and to feel the pleasure of being completely focused for 90 minutes, when nothing seems to exist but the game.

As a student sometimes caught off track with a short attention span, experiencing that focus — a state experts call “flow” — is just part of the payoff the game I love provides.

Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi describes flow as a

state of complete immersion in an activity when one’s entire being is focused and in sync.

“The ego falls away. Time flies.

Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz,” he said. “Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”

That’s one of the benefits of a hobby or activity that one loves.

Another is that the schedule adds structure to the week and helps improve time-management skills.

Calgary’s Columbia College states on its website that having a hobby outside school can increase confidence while enabling students to socialize and shed stress.

“Having a hobby that we enjoy brings us joy and refreshes us,” it said in a message to students.

“Hobbies help us to manage our leisure and unplanned time more productively.”

The statement adds that taking a short break from work to get involved in something they are passionate about can rejuvenate the mind and help prepare students to handle challenges in the future in a better way.

From experience, I know that in order to reap these benefits it’s important to manage my schedule. There are countless times when I’ve underestimated my workload and filled my calendar with more than I can handle, living to regret it the following week when I fall behind.

I have never been as naturally gifted academically as I have been in soccer. But when I stay on top of my schedule and follow a routine,

there is no reason for me to suffer in either department. I succeed best when I stay disciplined and build a habit of setting priorities.

The key to achieving this balance in life is by planning a schedule ahead of time. It’s impossible for everything to go as planned every single time, but when I make note of all my responsibilities, whether it be digitally or on paper, I feel like I am working efficiently.

I sometimes struggle with staying focused when the school week feels like it’s progressing in slow motion.

Anytime I feel this way, I try to remind myself what I have to look forward to at the end of each week. Sunday night. When the ball is on my foot, and the beautiful game is flowing.